1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments and, more specifically, to centering mechanisms for articulation joints of surgical instruments.
2. Discussion of Related Art
A number of surgical instrument manufacturers have developed product lines with proprietary powered drive systems for operating and/or manipulating the surgical instrument. In many instances the surgical instruments include a powered handle assembly, which is reusable, and a disposable end effector or the like that is selectively connected to the powered handle assembly prior to use and then disconnected from the end effector following use in order to be disposed of or in some instances sterilized for re-use.
Generally, existing end effectors use adapters to convert the motion of the handle assemblies, powered or manual, into suitable motion for use with existing powered surgical instruments and/or handle assemblies of end effectors. The adapters may include articulation joints for articulating the end effectors relative to a longitudinal axis of the adapter. The articulation joints may articulate the end effector up, down, right, and/or left relative to the longitudinal axis of the adapter. The articulation joints may require multiple joints (e.g., universal joints) to achieve a desired articulation angle.